Jammu, July 31: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and President of the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP), Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday termed the killing of 21-year-old Gujjar youth Parvez Ahmed in Jammu as “state-sponsored terror” and a “cold-blooded murder in the guise of law enforcement.”
Speaking to reporters in Jammu after visiting Parvez Ahmed’s family in Nikki Tawi, Mufti as per Srinagar based news gathering agency Kashmir Dot Com alleged that the youth was killed in a fake encounter by the police on July 24 in Surey Chak, under the jurisdiction of Satwari Police Station. She categorically rejected the police version that Parvez was a drug peddler, calling it a “fabricated narrative to justify an extrajudicial execution.”
“This young boy was executed in a staged encounter. The police, who are supposed to protect our youth, have turned executioners. Parvez was not a criminal—he was a victim of state brutality. This is not an isolated incident but part of a growing pattern of targeted violence against the Gujjar-Bakerwal community,” Mufti said.
She accused the administration of targeting Jammu and Kashmir’s nomadic tribes through what she described as a systematic campaign of marginalization and repression. “The Gujjar-Bakerwal community, which has stood by the state in its most difficult times, is now being rewarded with bullets and false accusations. Their loyalty is being punished,” she said.
Citing several recent cases, Mufti said that Parvez Ahmed’s killing was only the latest in a series of alleged excesses against the tribal population.
“In February this year, 25-year-old Makhan Din from Kathua Bhilawar died by suicide after accusing security forces of torturing him over baseless allegations of Pakistani links. He left behind a video testimony. In March, three Gujjar youths from Kulgam—Showkat Ahmad Bhajad, Riyaz Ahmad Bhajad, and Mukhtar Ahmad Awan—went missing on their way to a wedding and were later found dead in the Vishaw River. Their bodies showed signs of torture, contradicting police claims of drowning,” she alleged.
Ms. Mufti also raised the case of Altaf Hussain Lali from Bandipora, who was killed in April after being labelled an “overground worker” by the police. “His family insists it was a staged encounter. Similarly, on May 4, Imtiyaz Ahmad Magray of Tangmarg died while reportedly in army custody. Officials said he jumped into a stream, but locals claim he was already in detention for several days,” she said.
Expressing concern over rising enforced disappearances, Ms. Mufti referred to Manzoor Ahmad Tedwa from Marhwa, Kishtawar, who has been missing from his grazing fields for over two months. She also highlighted the case of Muddasir Ahmad Dhakad, a tribal madrasa student from Devsar, Kulgam, missing since June 22. “Families are left pleading for answers. There is no transparency, no accountability,” she said.
“Thousands of Gujjar-Bakerwal youth have been detained, harassed, and later released without a shred of evidence. Kathua and Samba police in particular have carried out mass detentions, sowing fear and alienation among the tribal communities,” she alleged.
Ms. Mufti said that the nomadic communities are further being harassed during their seasonal migrations, facing obstruction of routes, baseless accusations of cattle smuggling and drug trafficking, and forced evictions. “We saw how dhoks were demolished in Pahalgam in 2020. This isn’t just neglect—it’s targeted displacement,” she said.
Recalling the 2018 Kathua rape-murder of an 8-year-old Bakerwal girl, she said the trauma was worsened by the communal mobilisation in favour of the accused. “That was a clear message to the community—that their pain doesn’t matter,” she said.
Slamming the present elected government under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Ms. Mufti said the Gujjar-Bakerwal communities had hoped for protection and inclusion. “But the brutality continues. This government, like the ones before it, has failed them. We see no justice, only silence. Our tribal population is being treated as expendable,” she said.
Demanding an independent and time-bound judicial probe into the killing of Parvez Ahmed, Mehbooba Mufti urged immediate suspension of the police personnel involved. “Justice delayed is justice denied. If the state fails to act, it will only deepen the alienation and mistrust. Democracy cannot survive without accountability,” she warned.
Mufti assured the victim’s family of the PDP’s full support and vowed to raise the matter at every possible forum. “We won’t allow these deaths to be reduced to mere statistics. These are human lives, and their dignity must be restored,” she added. (KDC)